View source for HMS Calcutta (D82)

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{{Short description|C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Calcutta}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Calcutta.jpg
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Calcutta''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Vickers Limited]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|Ship laid down=18 October 1917
|Ship launched=9 July 1918
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=28 August 1919
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=Converted to anti-aircraft cruiser in 1939
|Ship refit=
|Ship captured=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sunk 1 June 1941 by air attack off [[Alexandria]], Egypt
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: 74 (Aug 19);<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |title=British Warships 1914–1919 |date=1972 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton |page=49}}</ref> 82 (Nov 19); I.82 (1936); D.82 (1940)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |title=The Development of the British Royal Navy’s Pennant Numbers Between 1919 and 1940 |journal=Warship International |date=2024 |volume=61 |issue=2 |page=134–66}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass2|C|cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=* {{convert|4290|LT|t}} standard
* {{convert|5250|LT|t}} deep load
|Ship length=* {{cvt|451|ft|6|in|m}} [[Length overall|oa]]
* {{cvt|425|ft|m}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]]
|Ship beam={{cvt|43|ft|6|in|m}}
|Ship draught={{cvt|14|ft|3|in|m}}
|Ship propulsion=*Parsons geared turbines
* [[Yarrow boiler]]s
* Two propellers
* {{cvt|40,000|shp|lk=in}}
|Ship speed={{convert|29|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=Carried 300 tons (950 tons maximum) of fuel oil
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement=330–350
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=* 5 × [[BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun|{{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}}]] guns
* 2 × [[QF 3 inch 20 cwt|{{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on|0}}]] anti-aircraft guns
* 4 × [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|3-pounder]] guns
* 2 × [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|2-pounder]] pom-poms
* 1 × machine gun
* 8 × [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=* {{convert|3|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} side (amidships)
* {{convert|2+1/4|-|1+1/2|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} side (bows)
* {{convert|2|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} side (stern)
* {{convert|1|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} upper [[Deck (ship)|deck]]s (amidships)
* {{convert|1|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} deck over rudder
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Calcutta''''' was a {{sclass2|C|cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]] of the [[Royal Navy]], named after the [[British Raj|Indian]] city of [[Calcutta]]. She was part of the ''Carlisle'' group of the C class of cruisers. She was laid down by [[Vickers Limited]] at [[Barrow-in-Furness]] in 1917 and launched on 9 July 1918. ''Calcutta'' was commissioned too late to see action in the [[First World War]] and was converted to an [[anti-aircraft]] cruiser in 1939. ''Calcutta'' served during the [[Norwegian Campaign]] and [[Operation Dynamo|the evacuation from Dunkirk]] in 1940. She was used to escort allied convoys across the [[Mediterranean]] and was sunk on 1 June 1941 by ''[[Luftwaffe]]''  aircraft off [[Alexandria]], Egypt.

==Construction and design==
''Calcutta'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] at Vickers' [[Barrow-in-Furness]] shipyard on 28 January 1917 and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 9 July 1918, completing in August 1919.<ref name="conways06 p61">{{Harvnb|Preston|1985|p=61}}</ref>

The ship was {{convert|451|ft|6|in|m}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|425|ft|m|2}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|43|ft|6|in|m}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|14|ft|3|in|m}}.<ref name="Whit p71">{{Harvnb|Whitley|1999|p=71}}</ref> [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|4290|LT|t|lk=on}} normal and {{convert|5250|LT|t}} deep load.<ref name="conways06 p61"/> Six [[Yarrow boiler]]s fed steam to two sets of Parsons geared [[steam turbine]]s rated at {{convert|40000|shp|lk=in}}, giving a design speed of {{convert|29|kn|lk=in}}.

As built, ''Calcutta''{{'}}s main armament consisted of five [[BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun]]s, carried in single mounts, with an anti-aircraft armament of two [[QF 3-inch 20 cwt]] guns and two [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|2-pounder]] pom-pom [[autocannon]]. Eight [[British 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s were carried, in four twin mounts.<ref name="conways06 p60-1">{{Harvnb|Preston|1985|pp=60–61}}</ref> The ship had an [[Belt armor|armour belt]] of {{convert|3|in|mm}} [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#Amidships|amidships]], thinning to {{convert|1+1/2|in|mm}} forward and {{convert|2|in|mm}} aft, with an armoured deck {{convert|1|in|mm}} thick protecting the ship's machinery.<ref name="jfs31 p53">{{Harvnb|Parkes|1931|p=53}}</ref> She had a complement of 432 officers and ratings.<ref name="conways06 p61"/>

===Modification===
In August 1938 ''Calcutta'' started conversion at [[HMNB Chatham|Chatham Dockyard]] to an anti-aircraft cruiser. The conversion involved removal of all guns and torpedo tubes, with eight [[QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun]]s in four twin mounts being fitted, with a close-in armament of a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom and two quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun]] mounts. The conversion was completed in July 1939.<ref name="Whit p71-2">{{Harvnb|Whitley|1999|pp=71–72}}</ref><ref name="navhist"/>

==Service==
Following commissioning, ''Calcutta'' joined the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron on the [[North America and West Indies Station]], based at the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard]] in the [[Imperial fortress]] [[British Overseas Territory|colony]] of [[Bermuda]], as [[Flagship]].<ref name="conways06 p61"/><ref name="Whit p72">{{Harvnb|Whitley|1999|p=72}}</ref> In December 1919 it helped put down violence in [[Trinidad and Tobago]] during a General Strike there.{{sfn|Kiely|1996|p=66}} On 6 March 1920, the American cargo ship {{ship|SS|Balabac}} caught fire in [[Port of Spain]] harbour. ''Calcutta'' sent some of her crew to try and fight the fire and used her boats to rescue ''Balabac''{{'}}s crew.<ref name="logpt1 6320">{{Old Weather| url = http://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-06-HMS_Calcutta.htm | vessel = HMS Calcutta | day = 6 | month = March  | year= 1920}}</ref> ''Calcutta'' remained on the North America and West Indies Station until 1926 (when she was under the command of Captain AB Cunningham), when she sustained structural damage from being dashed against a jetty at the Bermuda dockyard in the [[1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane]] on 21 October. The dockface (or ''the wall'') in the South Yard and old North Yard of the dockyard are on the eastern ([[Great Sound]]) shore of the island of [[Ireland Island, Bermuda|Ireland]] (with the western shore on the open North Atlantic). ''Calcutta'' was tied (bow to the North) to the wall at the oiling wharf (at the northern end of the South Yard), where, during an unusually high tide, it was more exposed to the wind blowing eastward over the island, than it would have been in the more sheltered North Yard (where [[HMS Capetown (D88)|HMS Capetown]] tore up two bollards but otherwise rode out the storm safely), so forty hawsers were used, but all snapped when the windspeed reached 138 mph (the highest speed recorded before the storm destroyed the dockyard's anemometer). Fortunately, the bow anchor had been dropped, and held as the stern was swung around to the westward, into the channel (the entrance to the dockyard from the Great Sound) between the two breakwaters that protected the two sections of the dockyard, and the starboard beam of the ship contacted the end of the northern breakwater. ''Calcutta'' used her propulsion system to fight the wind that would have driven her backwards into the sound, and Executive Officer Commander HM Maltby and fifty other crew members jumped onto the breakwater and lashed the ship to the end of the breakwater, while Sub-Lieutenants [[Stephen Roskill]] of [[HMS Wistaria (1915)|HMS Wistaria]] and Conrad Byron Alers-Hankey (a cousin of [[Alex Hankey|Alexander Maurice Alers Hankey]], and brothers [[Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey|Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey]] (the creator of the modern UK Cabinet Office) and [[Donald Hankey|Donald William Alers Hankey]], and descendant of the Reverend William Alers Hankey (1771–1859), an ex-banker and the secretary of the London Missionary Society (LMS) for whom the town of [[Hankey]], [[South Africa]] was named) of ''Capetown'' swam to attach two more lines to the oil wharf.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stranack, Royal Navy |first=Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D |date=1977 |title=The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975 |location=Bermuda |publisher=Island Press Ltd <!--., Bermuda, 1977 (1st Edition); Bermuda Maritime Museum Press, Royal Naval Dockyard Bermuda, Ireland Island, Sandys, Bermuda, 1990 (2nd Edition)--> |page=113 |isbn=9780921560036}}</ref> The hurricane also sank the sloop {{HMS|Valerian|1916|2}} while at sea.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stranack, Royal Navy |first=Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D |author-link= |date=1977 |title=The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975 |url= |location=Bermuda |publisher=Island Press Ltd., Bermuda, 1977 (1st Edition); Bermuda Maritime Museum Press, Royal Naval Dockyard Bermuda, Ireland Island, Sandys, Bermuda, 1990 (2nd Edition) |page= |isbn=9780921560036}}</ref><ref name="navhist">{{cite web|last=Mason|first=Geoffrey B.|title=HMS Calcutta - World War 1 C-type light cruiser: including Convoy Escort Movements|work=Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2|publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-HMS_Calcutta.htm|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Hurricane: End of H.M.S. Valerian|work=[[The Daily Standard (Brisbane)|The Daily Standard]]|location=Brisbane|date=26 October 1926|page=4|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181005900}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=1943-10-07 |title=SAVED THE FLAGSHIP |work=Edinburgh Evening News |location=[[Edinburgh]] |page=4 |quote=On the day that Admiral Cunningham took over his new job as First Sea Lord one of his young officers of early years was distinguishing himself off the coast of France. Commander Conrad Alers-Hankey was in command of the light forces which routed enemy destroyers off the Sept Isles early on Tuesday.<br>Alers-Hankey won the D.S.C. at Dunkirk when in command of the destroyer Vanquisher. Since then he has been twice mentioned in dispatches.<br>As a sub-lieutenant in the West Indies he once had the distinction of saving the flagship, the cruiser Calcutta. A hurricane parted all the wires securing the Calcutta to the centre mole, and the ship was being swept down on to the jetty. Alers-Hankey dived overboard with a rope secured to a stout hawser. He made fast the hawser, which finally stopped the ship's way. The captain of the Calcutta was Capt. A. B. Cunningham.}}</ref>

Following repair and a period in reserve, ''Calcutta'' was recommissioned on 18 September 1929 as the flagship of the 6th Cruiser Squadron serving on the Africa Station, based at [[Naval Base Simon's Town|Simon's Town]], [[South Africa]], serving on that station until returning to the United Kingdom and paying off into reserve in 1931.<ref name="navhist"/><ref name="Whit p72"/>

===Second World War===
Following conversion to an anti-aircraft cruiser, ''Calcutta'' joined the [[Home Fleet]] in August 1939 and in September was allocated to the Humber Force, acting as an anti-aircraft escort for [[convoy]]s in the [[North Sea]]. She returned to the Home Fleet in February but continued to escort convoys as well as the Fleet.<ref name="navhist"/><ref name="Whit p72"/>

In April 1940, [[Norwegian Campaign|Germany invaded Norway]] and ''Calcutta'' was one of the units of the Home Fleet deployed in response. From 22–23 April, ''Calcutta'', along with the cruiser {{HMS|Birmingham|C19|2}}, the destroyer {{HMS|Maori|F24|2}}, the sloop {{HMS|Auckland|L61|2}} and the French destroyers {{Ship|French destroyer|Bison|1928|2}} and {{Ship|French destroyer|Foudroyant|1929|2}}, escorted the French troopship ''Ville d{{'}}Alger'' which was landing troops at [[Namsos (town)|Namsos]] but the operations were disrupted by poor weather.<ref name="navhist"/><ref name="Rohwer p18">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=18}}</ref> On 30 April, operations began to evacuate British and French troops from [[Åndalsnes]], with ''Calcutta'' providing anti-aircraft cover for the evacuation operations. ''Calcutta'' and ''Auckland'' evacuated the rearguard from Åndalsnes on the night of 1/2 May, with ''Calcutta'' embarking 756 officers and men.<ref name="navhist"/><ref name="Rohwer p18"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, May 1940 (Part 1 of 4): Wednesday 1st – Tuesday 7th|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4005-14MAY01.htm|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref>

At the end of May 1940, ''Calcutta'' took part in [[Operation Dynamo]], the evacuation of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] from [[Dunkirk]].<ref name="Rohwer p21">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=21}}</ref> She evacuated 656 troops on the night of 27/28 May 1940,<ref name="win p15,83">{{Harvnb|Winser|1999|pp=15, 83}}</ref> when she operated off [[De Panne|La Panne]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, May 1940 (Part 4 of 4): Wednesday 22nd – Friday 31st|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4005-14MAY04.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref> and a further 1,200 troops on the night of 28/29 May.<ref name="win p16,83">{{Harvnb|Winser|1999|pp=16, 83}}</ref>  ''Calcutta'' again operated off Dunkirk on the night of 31 May/1 June,<ref name="win p26">{{Harvnb|Winser|1999|p=26}}</ref><ref name="nav640tp1">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, June 1940 (Part 1 of 4): Saturday 1st – Friday 7th|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4006-19JUN01.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref> and was slightly damaged by near-misses by German bombs on 2 June.<ref name="nav640tp1"/><ref name="win p30">{{Harvnb|Winser|1999|p=30}}</ref>

Following the completion of the evacuation from Dunkirk, British Forces continued to operate in France, with [[Operation Aerial]] taking part in the second half of June 1940 to evacuate the remainder of British forces from ports in the west of France. ''Calcutta'' took part in Operation Aerial, providing anti-aircraft cover for evacuations from [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] in the far south-west of France, near the border with Spain from 23 to 25 June, when the [[Armistice of 22 June 1940|Armistice between France and Germany]] ended the evacuations. On the return journey, ''Calcutta'' was in company with the  [[Royal Canadian Navy|Canadian]] destroyers {{HMCS|Restigouche|H00|6}} and {{HMCS|Fraser|H48|2}}, when on the evening of 25 June ''Calcutta'' collided with ''Fraser'' off the [[Gironde estuary]], cutting the destroyer in two. The front of ''Fraser'' sank quickly, while the aft part was [[Scuttling|scuttled]] by ''Restigouche''.<ref name="win p51">{{Harvnb|Winser|1999|p=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Operation Aerial - Evacuation from Western France, June 1940|work=Admiralty War Diaries of World War 2|publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWDa-Aerial.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref> ''Calcutta'' was undamaged.<ref>{{Harvnb|''The Naval Review''|April 1959|p=174}}</ref>

On 30 August ''Calcutta'' set off from [[Gibraltar]] as part of [[Operation Hats]], which had the purpose of strengthening the British [[Mediterranean Fleet]] based in Egypt while simultaneously escorting a supply convoy to [[Malta]]. ''Calcutta'' formed part of Force F, the reinforcements for the Mediterranean Fleet, and together with sister ship {{HMS|Coventry|D43|2}} and the battleship {{HMS|Valiant|1914|2}} delivered personnel and stores to Malta on 2 September after Force F met up with the Mediterranean Fleet, reaching [[Alexandria]] on 6 September.<ref name="Rohwer p31-2">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=31–32}}</ref><ref name="barn p228-234">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|pp=228–234}}</ref> On 8 October 1940, ''Calcutta'', together with ''Coventry'' and four destroyers, formed the close escort of Convoy MF.3 to Malta, reaching Malta on 11 September, with ''Calcutta'' and ''Coventry'' forming part of the escort of the return convoy MF4.<ref name="navhist"/><ref name="Rohwer p37-8">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=37–38}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, October 1940 (Part 1 of 2): Tuesday 1st – Monday 14th|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4010-23OCT01.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref>

''Calcutta'' provided anti-aircraft support for the battleships {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}}, ''Valiant'' and {{HMS|Barham|04|2}} when they bombarded [[Bardia]] on 3 January, then on 7 January set off from Alexandria as part of the escort of Malta Convoy MW5. This was part of a complex series of operations, with another Malta convoy, Operation Excess being simultaneously run from Gibraltar. Convoy MW5 arrived unharmed at Malta on 10 January, but the escort for the Operation Excess convoy was heavily hit by German dive bombers, sinking the cruiser {{HMS|Southampton|83|2}} and badly damaging the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Illustrious|87|2}} and the cruiser {{HMS|Gloucester|62|2}}.<ref name="Rohwer p47-8">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=47–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, January 1941 (Part 1 of 2): Wednesday 1st – Tuesday 14th|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4101-28JAN01.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref> During March 1941, ''Calcutta'' escorted a series of troop convoys, known as Operation Lustre, carrying four British divisions from Egypt to Greece.<ref name="Rohwer p53">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=53}}</ref> An Italian attempt to attack these convoys resulted in the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in which three Italian heavy cruisers were sunk.<ref name="Rohwer p56">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=56}}</ref>

On 18 April 1941 ''Calcutta'' sailed with the Mediterranean Fleet when it escorted the fast transport {{HMS|Breconshire||2}} to Malta, continuing to escort the fleet as it bombarded the port of [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] on 20 April.<ref name="Rohwer p59">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=59}}</ref><ref name="barn p366">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|p=366}}</ref> On 24 April, the Mediterranean Fleet launched [[Operation Demon]], the evacuation of British and Commonwealth forces from Greece, with ''Calcutta'' taking part in the evacuations.<ref name="Rohwer p60">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=60}}</ref><ref name="barn p348-0">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|pp=348–350}}</ref> Between 6 and 12 May, ''Calcutta'' set out from Alexandria as part of the escort of Malta-bound convoy MW7, before joining the Operation Tiger convoy ferrying tanks from Gibraltar to Egypt.<ref name="Rohwer p61">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=61}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, May 1941 (Part 1 of 2): Thursday 1st – Wednesday 14th|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY01.htm|access-date=26 September 2015}}</ref>

On 20 May, Germany launched [[Battle of Crete|an invasion]] of [[Crete]] by airborne troops. The British Mediterranean Fleet deployed to counter any sea-borne reinforcement of the German forces, with three groups of cruisers and destroyers (Forces B, C and D) deployed to the north of Crete to intercept invasion convoys, while a force of battleships and destroyers (Force A1) provided cover in case the Italian Navy attempted to intervene.<ref name="barn p352-3">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|pp=352–353}}</ref> ''Calcutta'' was sent from Alexandria to join Force C, meeting it on 21 May. Force C came under heavy attack by German and Italian aircraft during 21 May, with the destroyer {{HMS|Juno|F46}} being sunk. On 22 May Force C intercepted a convoy of [[Caïque]]s carrying German troops to [[Heraklion]], escorted by the {{Ship|Italian torpedo boat|Sagittario|1936|2}}. While the convoy was forced to turn back, heavy German air attacks caused the commander of Force C, Rear-Admiral King, to break off the attack. The air attacks damaged the cruisers {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}} and {{HMS|Carlisle|D67|2}} before Force C rejoined the covering Force A1. Further attacks on the combined force damaged the battleships ''Warspite'' and ''Valiant'' and sank the cruisers ''Gloucester'' and {{HMS|Fiji||2}} and the destroyer {{HMS|Greyhound|H05|2}}. Force A1 was ordered back to Alexandria early on 23 May to restock anti-aircraft ammunition.<ref name="Rohwer p64">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=64}}</ref><ref name="barn p354-6">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|pp=354–356}}</ref><ref name="nav541 pt2">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, May 1941 (Part 2 of 2): Thursday 14th – Saturday 31st|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=Naval-history.net|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY02.htm|access-date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823043500/http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY02.htm|archive-date=23 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 27 May, the deteriorating situation on Crete resulted in the evacuation of Allied forces being ordered, with ''Calcutta'' along with the cruisers ''Coventry'', {{HMS|Phoebe|43|2}} and {{HMAS|Perth|D29|2}}, the destroyers {{HMS|Jervis||2}}, {{HMS|Janus|F53|2}} and {{HMS|Hasty|H24|2}} and the transport {{HMS|Glengyle||2}} evacuating 6,000 troops from [[Sfakia]] on the night of 29/30 May 1941.<ref name="barn p360,2-3">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|pp=360, 362–363}}</ref> On the night of 31 May/1 June 1941, a final effort was made to evacuate the remaining troops from Sfakia, with the cruiser ''Phoebe'', the minelayer {{HMS|Abdiel|M39|2}} and the destroyers {{HMS|Kimberley|F50|2}}, {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|2}} and {{HMS|Jackal|F22|2}} picked up a further 3,710 men. ''Calcutta'' and ''Coventry'' set out from Alexandria on 1 June to provide extra anti-aircraft protection for this force, but the two ships were attacked by two [[Junkers Ju 88]] bombers of [[Lehrgeschwader 1]], which dived out of the sun, giving little warning, about {{convert|100|nmi|km}} north-west of Alexandria. ''Calcutta'' was hit by two bombs and sank, with 255 men being rescued by ''Coventry'' and 107 men killed or missing.<ref name="nav541 pt2"/><ref name="barn p363">{{Harvnb|Barnett|2000|p=363}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Kemp|1999|p=148}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last=Barnett|first=Correlli|title=Engage The Enemy More Closely: The Royal Navy in the Second World War|year=2000|publisher=Penguin|location=London|isbn=0-141-39008-5}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book |last=Kiely|first=Ray | title = The Politics of Labour and Development in Trinidad|year=1996| publisher = Press University of the West Indies| isbn= 9789766400170}}
* {{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Paul|title=The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century|year=1999|publisher=Sutton Publishing|location=Stroud, UK|isbn=0-7509-1567-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|last=Parkes|first=Oscar|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1931|year=1973|orig-year=1931 |others=First published by Sampson Low, Marston, London|publisher=David & Charles (Publishers)|location=Newton Abbot, UK|isbn=0-7153-5849-9|ref={{harvid|Parkes|1931}}}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|author-link=Antony Preston|pages=1–104}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen|last2=Hümmelchen|first2=Gerhard|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945|year=1992|publisher=Greenhill Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-85367-117-3}}
* {{cite journal|author=Walrus|title=The Loss of H.C.M.S. Fraser|journal=[[The Naval Review]]|date=April 1959|volume=XLVII|issue=2|pages=46–49|url=http://www.naval-review.com/issues/1950s/1959-2.pdf#46|ref={{harvid|''The Naval Review''|April 1959}}|access-date=26 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927230755/http://www.naval-review.com/issues/1950s/1959-2.pdf#46|archive-date=27 September 2015|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|year=1999|publisher=Brockhampton Press|location=London|isbn=1-86019-8740}}
* {{cite book|last=Winser|first=John de S.|title=B.E.F. Ships before, at and after Dunkirk|year=1999|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Gravesend, UK|isbn=0-905617-91-6}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web |title= Royal Navy Log Books – HMS Calcutta |access-date= 15 December 2013 |url= http://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-06Calcutta.htm}} Transcription of ship's logbooks September 1920 to September 1923

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{{C class cruiser}}
{{June 1940 shipwrecks}}
{{June 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calcutta}}
[[Category:1918 ships]]
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[[Category:Ships sunk by German aircraft]]

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